Tripti Nath/New Delhi

Pankaj Saran, former Deputy National Security Advisor, who has served as Ambassador to Russia, says that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to skip the G20 Summit is not good for peace and harmony.

Terming Putin’s decision as "very unfortunate'', Saran, who is the Convenor of NatStrat, a Center for Research on Strategic and Security Issues, said, “It is not good for the G-20. It is not good for the world. It is not good for peace and harmony which is the motto of the Indian Presidency.’’

Putin recently called Prime Minister Narendra Modi informing him that he would not be attending the G 20 summit on September 8-9 in New Delhi and instead would send his Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

In an exclusive interview with Awaz-the Voice, Saran observed, “Having said that, it has nothing to do with the state of India-Russia relationship but it has everything to do with Russia’s relations with the G7 and the collective West. This is something that is going on between the two of them. We, unfortunately, have very little to say in helping matters although in our public statements- from the Prime Minister downwards, we have been advocating that the only way forward to reduce tensions is dialogue and diplomacy.’’

He however hoped that Putin’s absence would not affect the outcome of the summit and that there would be a consensus G 20 communique which is important. 

He explained, “We have to understand that G 20 is not a political body. It is not mandated to address political or security issues. Its primary mandate is finance and economic development. I do not think that we should bring politics into this framework. There are other forums to handle all these issues including the Security Council and the United Nations to sort out these issues. I don’t think G 20 is the place where we can sort out conflicts of a strategic or political nature.''

Asked about China’s opposition to the inclusion of the Sanskrit phrase 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' (the world is one family) in documents about last month's G20 Energy ministerial meeting as also other G20 documents, Saran said, “It is actually at one level very specious. At one level, they keep saying that India and China are the two largest and oldest civilizations of the world and that is a reason good enough for both India and China to co-exist and develop together. But when it comes to action on the ground, they do not match these lofty ambitions that they espouse.’’

Dismissing the Chinese argument that Sanskrit cannot be used in the G 20 documents because it is not recognized by the UN as an official language, Saran said, “Sanskrit is one of the oldest languages of the world. Sanskrit is the mother of all languages. There are estimates that it is probably about 3,000 to 4,000 years old.’’

Saran added that the Chinese resistance to Sanskrit reflects more of a petty mind, a hint of a bit of jealousy, and an inability to give respect or acknowledge that another like-sized country has a civilizational history that it wants to put forward and which is accepted by the entire international community. 

Criticizing China for its narrow-mindedness, Saran said, “Nobody has a problem except China. The onus lies on China to show that its objections have any merit at all or they are borne out of very narrow strategic and political calculations. I don’t think that it will carry much weight among the global community because everybody knows what Sanskrit is India’s civilizational contribution.’’

He added, “This will be seen more as settling scores with India. It does not behoove China’s professed role as an emerging major power It just shows some kind of a lack of sensitivity and inability to accept that other powers in the world deserve respect and recognition for what they are. I think, here, it is the Chinese who are coming out in poor light.’’

To a question on how India has made the G 20 a more inclusive forum, Saran replied that the message that is going across by India hosting the G 20 summit is that India has a heart and mind that is large enough to accommodate every single shade of opinion and region of the world. India wants to practice inclusivity globally.  

He pointed out that the Indian initiative to get the African Union to the G 20 is a legacy initiative and the New Delhi Summit will be remembered for this. “But the other aspect of inclusivity which we must speak about is how India has been the voice of the Global South. India has taken this initiative to say that this time around, we will make sure that the voices of the Global South are heard in these fora because, without that, you cannot have a stable global order. You cannot have prosperity and harmony if the agenda and concerns of the vast humanity of the world are not taken cognizance of.’’

On Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s description of India’s G20 presidency as a “people’s presidency’’, the senior diplomat said, “What the Prime Minister has said has been implemented. The G 20 outreach by the government in India has gone beyond the confines of government offices or even chambers of Commerce. It has been taken to every corner of the country. The message to the whole world is that India represents a microcosm of humanity. We have set new benchmarks for the G20 grouping. India has diversified the G 20 agenda. The Prime Minister wants to make the G 20 a non-elite event and take the issues that affect every single person in India and outside. He has tried to make it inclusive in the spirit of the motto of the Presidency.’’

To a question on whether other G 20 members will be able to match the scale at which India has held about 200 meetings in 60 Indian cities during the term of the G 20 Presidency, Saran said, “ I think, it will be a hard act to follow after the kind of energy India has put in under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership to completely change the character of the G 20 grouping. The decision to take it right down to the people, to capture the imagination of the people, to take it to the smallest of cities from Kashmir and Kanyakumari is to impart an Indian character to the G20. I have heard that Brazil is fearful if it can match the energy level and number of meetings.’’

He explained that a whole Army of Indian officials had worked overtime behind the scenes and put in a lot of disciplined, high-quality hard work in preparing documents and reams of paper. “ They are making sure that everything is clearly outlined sans errors to ensure that there is consensus and the Indian viewpoint or Indian perspective is put out on each issue.’’

To a question on the outcome of the summit, Saran said, “ There will be a few big takeaways but the combination of all of them will be such that they will add to the restoration of confidence in the global economy and hopefully, the revival of the global economy on the right path.’’

Saran said that the document at the end of the summit will be long. “We hope it will be consensus. It is just Russia and China that have to agree to a consensus document and also the G 7 has to pitch in to ensure that there is consensus on burning issues of our times There will be multiple outcomes but if we can focus only on four or five, they can become global legacy... If we talk about Global South, sustainable models of development, digital public infrastructure, stability in trade and financial flows, new forms of development cooperation, indebtedness and use of technology as a driver for future prosperity.’’

He added that India wants the whole global economy to grow. 

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Saran said that India today is the bright spot in the global economy at a time of great shock arising out of the Ukraine conflict as well as the Covid pandemic. ”Our GDP today is more than double of what it was when the first G20 Summit took place in 2008. Today, India is the fastest-growing economy in the world. It is expected by all yardsticks that this GDP of three trillion will become six trillion in the next few years. There is a lot of responsibility on India and simultaneously, there is a lot of opportunity for India to continue with this high growth path.’’